Tofu with Steak Sauce and Onions(Vegan); Three-Cheese Pasta with Spinach

Hi, there, it's sure been a while since I last posted, and I didn't realize just how long until I got here. For a while, I just didn't feel much at all like cooking, as I've been pretty depressed, very tired, and probably you can understand, right?

A couple weeks ago, I had my second appointment with my rheumatologist, and he gave me two shots of cortisone in my lower back, on either side of my spine. It took a couple weeks to take effect, but boy howdy, I can sure tell the difference at work now. As to how long they will last, I of course have no idea , but I'm enjoying it for now. The results of the lab work and x-rays showed that my problem is "a touch" of arthritis, some degenerative discs, caused by the arthritis, and from the questions he asked me and the places he poked and prodded, he determined I also have fibromyalgia. No surprise there. Y'know, I think I've already told you this, tho. Anyway.

The flexeril and the lyrica together have helped me sleep...too well, in fact, so I've cut the flexeril in half. My insurance, however, has run out for the BC/BS fiscal year, and this time, it included my prescription plan!!! Some of my meds are extremely high, over $100, so I don't quite know yet what I'm going to do. But, in the meantime, I sure don't hurt as bad as I did. Even tho I'm not going to stop working, I will start receiving the early Social Security retirement checks, starting towards the end of this month, so that will help some, I'm sure.

Ok, let's get to the important stuff, right? The food, lol. This recipe came from about.com's vegetarian pages, and it's really good. I made it last night and loved it, and will make it again.

.......................................Tofu with Steak Sauce and Onions........................................

1pkg.firm or extra firm tofu, well pressed

2Tbs. olive oil

1 onion, sliced

2Tbs. balsamic vinegar

1 Tbs. steak sauce

1/3C water

1Tbs. flour

Slice tofu into 5 or 6 strips, about 1/2 inch thick.

Saute onions in oil until they turn brown and begin to carmelize, then add tofu and allow to cook until lightly golden brown. Add balsamic vinegar and steak sauce and stir to combine. Add next the water and flour and whisk to combine . Allow to cook until the sauce thickens.

Serve over rice, or hamburger buns.

First of all, I used a vacuum-packed firm tofu, and I think that I should've used a water-packed extra firm, pressed. The flavour most likely wasn't affected, but the tofu simply crumbled, so the strips didn't happen. Actually that was ok with me, as I was able to cut it into cubes. The steak sauce is your own choice, of course. Mine was the Kroger brand knock-off of A-1, which I really like. Instead of rice, I used toasted hamburger buns, and really enjoyed this a lot. My sides were plain boiled potatoes, and green beans with bacos sprinkled over.

This next recipe isn't really a recipe at all, it's just a general idea of the ingredients and sort of guessing at the amounts. You can adjust this to fit your own likes, and what your family likes. Basically, it's failproof, and quite easy. It came about because I needed to use up about three ounces of garlic and herb goat cheese before it went bad.

...............................................Three-Cheese Pasta with Spinach.................................

Set a large pot of water to boil, well salted. While the water heats, melt about three tablespoonsful of butter in a medium-sized skillet, or a sauce pan if you prefer, over fairly low heat. I like my skillet. When the butter melts, stir in a couple tablespoonsful of flour with a whisk, and let it heat for a few minutes, to take out the raw flavour of the flour. Then add about a cup of cold water(use milk or soy milk if you prefer, I just didn't have any milk), stirring constantly with that whisk. Once this is all stirred in, add another cup of water, and turn up the heat to a little less than medium. Stir often. When the sauce starts to simmer, it may thicken up more, so you can add more water or milk if you prefer.
When it reaches the consistency YOU like, start adding your cheeses. I used the three ounces of garlic and herb goat cheese, one slice of smoked provolone, and a few good shakes of Parmesan. Keep stirring, because this has a tendency to scorch, and stirring helps the cheeses to melt. If you want to...and I did...you can season the sauce with black pepper, thyme, and just a dash of nutmeg. Your water should be boiling by now, so turn the heat down on the cheese sauce, and add as much spaghetti as YOU want to the pot. Try not to add too much at a time, as the water should stay boiling, or at least at a simmer, as you add it. Stir the spaghetti around and around until it's all under water, and let it justkeep boiling until it's done as much as YOU want. I like my spaghetti really soft, you may prefer al dente. Your choice. Ok, while the s'getti boils, take some frozen chopped spinach from the freezer, and add a couple good-sized handsful to the cheese sauce, and stir it well, to make sure the spinach isn't in large clumps, and that all of it is coated with cheese. It won't take but about five minutes for it to thaw, get hot, and be tender enough to eat. Drain the s'getti thoroughly, and put it back into the empty pot you cooked it in, pour the sauce over it, mix it all together, and that's it. It's done. Your sides can be whatever YOU want...I don't think I bothered with a side, just ate the pasta. After all, it had spinach in it, so there was my veggie, right? I really thought this stuff was great, and I hope you enjoy it, too.

Ok, I was going to post a couple soup recipes, but I'm tired and hungry, to they'll just have to wait. Until next time, Happy Eating!!!

Chana Masala(vegan)

The holiday season finally came to an end, and boy howdy, am I ever glad!!! We were so busy at work, and my schedule was so screwed up, I almost lost my mind, and came close to a meltdown a couple times. Managed to hold up, tho, and now I have three days off in a row!!!! I don't have to go back to work until Saturday morning, and I'm definitely grateful, believe me! The best part is that I have NO plans of any kind, and that means that I don't even have to so much as open the door if I choose not to, lol.

Monday morning I had a bone density test, and then a bunch of x-rays taken, mostly my lower back and hips, but a few of my hands. Tuesday I came home from work, and my rheumatologist's nurse was on my answering machine, telling me that the blood work they did last week was fine, and the bone density test came out fine, too. But. As for the results of the x-rays, the doctor wants to discuss those with me on my next appointment, which is the 18th, so, I'm guessing that he's not happy with those results. More will be revealed, lol.

Sometimes when I'm browsing thru recipes, one will jump out at me, looking so good, sounding so easy, and with ingredients that I just happen to have, that I have to try that recipe right then, and this one is one of those. Chana Masala is from India, and I found it on about.com's vegetarian pages. It's basically a chickpea and spinach curry, and I was very happy that I tried it. About.com didn't say how many servings, but I reheated it four times, and got seven servings for myself from it, so let's round it down to six, just to be on the safe side.

Chana Masala

1 can chickpeas in water(garbanzo beans)or 1 1/2 C precooked and 1/2C water

1/2 onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, diced

3 Tbs. olive oil

Juice from 1 lemon(about 2 Tbs.)

1/2 tsp. EACH curry powder, coriander powder, cumin, garam masala

1 lg. bunch spinach...or...2 handsful, rinsed

In large skillet, saute onion and garlic in olive oil until soft, 3-5 minutes

Add chickpeas straight from the can, including all the water. "Add spices and lemon juice, cover, and simmer about 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, adding more water if needed, until chickpeas are cooked and soft.

Reduce heat, add spinach, and cover. Allow spinach to wild for 2-4 minutes.

Serve immediatelyl

Note: For heartier Chana Masala, toss in some tofu, cubed, with the chick peas, and serve over rice.

Ok, now I'll tell you what I did, lol. You know I never follow a recipe exactly the way it's written. First of all, I didn't have any garam masala(I've tried to find it at Kroger, and haven't had any luck), so I used a whole teaspoonful of curry powder instead of the half spoonful. For spinach, I used frozen, about two handsful. And instead of tofu cubes, I used three small potatoes, peeled and cut into about 1/2 inch cubes, so that meant that I extended the cooking time, to about 20 minutes, I guess, until the potatoes were done.

This stuff is sooooo good, and while it's cooking, the smell is enough to drive ya crazy, it's so nice. Try it, you'll like it!!! Until next time, Happy Eating!!!

Moorish Style Chickpea and Spinach Stew(vegan); Cucumbers in Sour Cream(vegan)

This recipe today is another one from the NPR(National Public Radio?)"How Low Can You Go?" contest, and was sent in by Chef Jose Andres. I found it in "The Simple Dollar" newsletter, and thought it looked good enough to try. The author of "The Simple Dollar" made the recipe the way he found it, and then made an adaptation of it, and this is the adaptation. Hope you like it~!

Moorish Style Chickpea & Spinach Stew

2 cans chickpeas
Garlic powder to equal six cloves
1/4C extra virgin olive oil
3/4C bread crumbs
2Tbs. EACH paprika and red wine vinegar
1 tsp. cumin
1/2 pound spinach, washed and cleaned
salt and pepper to taste

Rinse chickpeas thoroughly, then put them in a pan with 1 1/2C water, and bring it to a boil. In another pan, bring the olive oil to a boil, and then remove it from the heat for 2 minutes. While stirring the olive oil, add the paprika, cumin, garlic, red wine vinegar, then slowly add the bread crumbs and set this aside. When the beans are boiling, add the spinach and allow it to boil for five minutes, stirring a bit. Add in the olive oil mixture, stir, and allow to boil another 5 minutes. Serve with crusty bread.

Well, I was sorely disappointed. The photos of this stew looked really yummy, and the author of the newsletter said his family liked it quite a lot. The recipe itself sounded good, too. I followed the recipe closely, with the exception of cooking my own chickpeas from dried ones, instead of opening a couple cans. And I got a little scared when the olive oil started smoking instead of boiling, so turned the heat off right then. I don't know how much of a difference that would have made, tho, and everything sizzled nicely when I stirred it into the hot oil. There's plenty left, so I'm pretty sure I'll eat it at least once more, because it is edible, even tho I'm not too fond of it. I certainly can't bring myself to toss it out...just yet. Y'know, I think I'd like it a lot better if I made it the next time with cannellini beans.

I didn't have any crusty bread, so I made a few boxed mix biscuits, and I also made a dish of cucumbers in sour creme for a cooling effect...and was glad I did, really.

Cucumbers in Sour Creme
1C diced cucumber, 1 C sour creme, 1Tbs. snipped fresh dill, and 1/4 tsp. salt.
Mix it all together, let it chill for at least 15 minutes, and enjoy. That's all there is to it~!!!!

At least the biscuits and cucumbers were good, lol. I think tonight I'll finish the cucumbers with "beefless gyro" sammich.

Until next time, Happy Eating!!!!

Hot Spinach Salad w/Feta(non-vegan); More about the kidney jerkl

This past Tuesday, the 7th, I was scheduled for my second visit with the kidney guy/jerk. Well! I sat in the waiting room, and I sat,and I sat, and I sat, and finally, his assistant came out, and, long story short: The doctor wasn't even in the building, he was running late, and there were three patients ahead of me. Sooooooo, I called my friend to come and get me, wrote that I would re-schedule on the sign-in sheet, and I left. Period. I was there roughly 45 minutes, the couple ahead of me had been there over an hour, and nobody had bothered to come out and tell the jerk's patients that he was late. Forgive me, but I have serious issues with that situation, and think it was unbelieveably inconsiderate, as well as not even close to being professional. However, I do have to see him again, so I will make another appointment. Sometime. In the meantime, it's been at least a week since I talked to the rheumatoligist's scheduler, and still haven't heard anything from them. I'm just very, very grateful that none of this is life-threatening, because I think that I'd most likely have died by now, from waiting for these "specialists" to decide what to do with me and my life. I'm pissed. Period.

None of that has anything to do with the hot spinach salad, does it? Nope, it doesn't, so I'll right to the point now. The original recipe wasn't for a hot salad, so this is an adaptation of a recipe I found in "Eating Well." When I read the original recipe, I thought, "Oh, yum...and I just actually happen to have a bag of baby spinach in the 'fridge." I had bought it to make something else, but since I don't remember what, I used it for the salad. The reason I decided to go with a hot salad is that I'm still kinda leery about raw bagged "stuff" in general, after the E.Coli scare a few months back. So, here's my recipe.

Hot Spinach Salad with Feta Cheese
One 10-oz. bag baby spinach, thoroughly rinsed and left very wet
Feta cheese...I used Vigo, which is made with sheep's milk. Use any kind you prefer...or leave it out entirely and make the salad vegan.
About two tablespoonsful olive oil
One heaping teaspoonful minced garlic(mine is from a jar, always)
About one teaspoonful Balsamic vinegar

Heat the olive oil in a skillet big enough to hold the spinach, remembering that the spinach will wilt and cook wayyyyy down. Toss the minced garlic in the pan, and let it sit until the oil is hot. Put the very wet spinach in the pan when the oil is hot, cover it, and let it cook down...if you want to, you can salt and pepper it now, but Feta cheese is wicked salty, so be careful. All I used was the black pepper. Once the spinach has wilted, crumble as much of the Feta cheese over it as you like. I guess I used about 3/4 cupful, because I love the stuff. Sprinkle about a teaspoonful of Balsamic vinegar over it all, stir, and let it sort of stew for a few minutes, just enough to let the flavors marry. Oh, yeah, I didn't put this in the ingredient list...obviously I'll never be a cookbook author...but I also peeled and diced up a big, red tomato, and put this in right after the cheese. If you don't have a tomato, I don't see why you couldn't use canned, drained, diced 'maters, do you? Anyway, that's all there is to it. It's one of those recipes that you can add to, or subtract from, or multiply, whatever. Different seasonings if you like, different type of cheese...goat cheese would be nice, too...or no cheese at all, maybe shredded carrots or minced onions, whatever. Play with it, make it yours.

Did I like this? Oh, yeah, very much! I ate all of it, by myself, in two evenings. Will I make it again? Possibly, but basically it falls into that category of "I'd love to have more of this if someone else would cook it," tho. And I don't have the Vigo Feta very often, as Kroger doesn't sell it: All their Fetas are made with cow's milk, and I can't handle the dairy. Since I cooked the spinach anyway, I think if I make it again, I'll just use frozen spinach. All I know for sure is that I really liked it. With it I had boiled potatoes and cubed seitan in onion gravy. Wonderful meal!!!!

Until next time, Happy Eating.

TVP Taco Recipe; Summer Sammich Ideas

This has been a pretty good week. I found $50 that I thought I had lost, one of my cyber-sisters sent me a Terry Blackwell book in the mail: "True Light," the Imaging Center where I had the ultrasound and the CT scan sent me a cute little "thank you" card, AND a check for $10(evidently I overpaid my c0-pay for the ultrasound!), went to the library yesterday which is always a joy, and best of all, Wednesday afternoon at work, I had the time to sit and snuggle with my nine-week old great-grandson!!! He was trying so hard to tell me about the nasty doctor that had stuck the nasty and painful needles in his little legs, bless his heart. So, I told him I understoon how he felt, and that I don't like needles being stuck in me, either. I'm sure he understood me, too. LOL!!!

I've spent the last five hours browsing three new-to-me websites, which mostly don't have much to do with food or cooking. The three of them have been added to my list of favorite websites, on the left of the page, and as of this moment I haven't checked them to see if the links work, but I will, and if they don't, I'll fix them. One is EasyEarth, and that one does have a section about food, and a few vegetarian, not vegan, recipes. The main reason I went there, tho, was to find some recipes for homemade, and "green," cleaning supplies, which I did find. Another site is TheSimpleDollar, and is one man's blog about being frugal, which another subject near and dear to my heart. The third one is Yes!magazine, and it's, well, it's about all sorts of things. I linked to it from the SimpleDollar, I think, to check out an article called "Sustainable Happiness," lol. And have signed up for the newsletter...as well as the newsletter from TheSimpleDollar, too. EarthEasy has one, but for reasons of my own, I chose not to subscribe to theirs.

About three weeks ago, I went into this little town's only...as far as I know...health food store, and altho I was extremely disappointed in it, I did fine some TVP, and some, um, wakame, I think...maybe it was dulse, but I don't think so. Anyway. So, I've been looking around for recipes using TVP, and while I've found several, this one really seemed like a good one, so I made it last night. Yup, it's a good one, and it comes from about.com, thanks to Jolinda Hackett, the vegetarian pages blogger. She does a fantastic job, and if you've never checked the vegetarian pages out over there, do yourself a favor, and do so. Sometime today. Anyway....

Ten Minute TVP Taco Recipe
2 cups each TVP and water
2 Tbs. each soy sauce and olive oil or vegetable oil
1 package taco seasoning
1 red or yellow bell pepper, cut into strips
1/4 cup salsa
flour tortillas or hard taco shells

In large skillet, heat water, over medium heat and add the TVP, stirring well. Allow the TVP to reconstitute for 2-3 minutes.

Add oil, soy sauce, peppers, and seasoning, stirring well. Allow to cook another 3-5 minutes.

Serve wrapped in tortillas or hard taco shell. Eat as is, vegan, or add tomatoes, lettuce, refried beans, sour cream, cheese.

I made some refried beans with diced onions in them. Spread a tortilla with a goodly amount of plain chevre goat cheese, plopped on some of the beans, and covered it all with a good bit of the TVP taco mix. Rolled it all up, heated the tortilla until lightly browned on two sides, and ate. I will most definitely do this again. In fact, there's a fully made and rolled up tortilla in the freezer right now, as well as a fair amount of the taco mix still in the refrigerator. I think I'm going to top a couple small baked potatoes with it and some cheese for supper tonight, along with some kind of vegetable. I can also tell you that the taco mix and a couple slices of the vegetarian smoked provolone cheese make on helluva great grilled sammich, too!!!!

Yesterday at the library, I checked out another cookbook: "The Vegetarian Mother's Cookbook," by Cathe Olson, and while I no longer have little kids at home, the book is definitely a winner, seriously. One of these days I'm going to try to find it, and add it to my home collection of cookbooks. One section of her book is called "Sandwiches and Quick Lunch Ideas," and some of these sammich ideas sound really, really good. Now, for the most part, you know I won't post a recipe here unless I've tried it and can vouch for it, but this is one of those times I'm going to break my own rule(hey, at my age, that's subject to happen a LOT!!), and give you three or four sammich recipes that I think look like they would be awfully good. It would take me quite a while to get around to trying all of them myself, so, I decided to post them. And, here goes:

Spinach-Hummus Wrap...vegan

1 large whole grain tortilla or slice flatbread(lavash)
1/4 to 1/3 cup Hummus
1/2 cup chopped spinach
2 to 3 Tbs. each diced cucumbers, tomatoes, and/or shredded carrots(all optional)

Liberally spread tortilla or flatbread with hummus. Layer vegetables over hummus and roll up. Wrap tightly with wax paper, foil, or plastic wrap until ready to eat. It will keep for couple of days wrapped and refrigerated. Makes 1 serving.

Veggie-Apple Melt...can be made vegan

2 slices whole grain bread.
2 tsp. EACH Dijon mustard and mayonnaise(regular OR vegan)
4 apple slices
2 Tbs. shredded carrots
2 to 4 cucumber rounds
2 Tbs. alfalfa sprouts
2 thin slices cheddar cheese(dairy OR non-dairy)

Preheat toaster or conventional oven to 375ºF. Spread one slice of bread with mustard, the other with mayonnaise. On mustard side, place apple slices and carrots. On mayo slice, place cucumber slices and sprouts. Cover each with a slice of cheese. Place on baking sheet and bake 5 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

My apologies, because that's only two sammiches instead of three or four. I had forgotten that it was necessary to go to other pages in her book for more recipes for a couple of those sammiches, such as Beanballs for the Beanball Sub I was going to post, sigh. I'm just too darned lazy to look it up, so, again, my apologies. If you do try either of these sammiches, tho, I'd appreciate it if you'd leave me a comment. Until next time, Happy Eating!

Homemade Vegetarian Pizza(non-vegan)

Lovely day, as well as being a serendipitous day, also! I'm supposed to work on Tuesdays, but yesterday, one of my co-workers asked me if I'd let her work, as she needed to make some extra cash. After thinking about it for, oh, maybe ten seconds, I told her it was fine by me, lol. I love my Dad dearly, I enjoyed his visit, but I figured it would be nice to be home alone and get some things done that I've been neglecting. And, that's just what I've done. Swept and mopped the kitchen floor, washed, dried, and put away a load of sheets and part of the shabbily chic secondhand store fabrics I use to cover the love seat, and then a load of towels, plus put away a bunch of clean laundry that's been resting in "The Chair" in the bedroom. Hey, don't roll your eyes at me, Iknow darned well you've got "The Chair," or something like it, in your bedroom, too. So there! And the dishes are done, and the counters thoroughly cleaned. Wanted to vacuum, but just can't do it, sigh. Maybe later this week?!?!?

Last night I decided I'd better figure out a way to use the lone zucchini in the 'fridge, so decided to make a pizza. This is going to be one of those "to taste...as you like it..." recipes, except for the crust, which is totally different from a real pizza crust. I got the recipe from a box of biscuit mix, I kid you not, and while it doesn't taste like real pizza dough, it's quick, easy, and will do in a pinch.

.................................................Biscuit Mix Pizza Dough.............................................

1 1/2 cups baking mix
1/4 cup hot water
1 tbs. vegetable oil{I used olive oil, use whatever you like best}

Heat oven to 400ºF. In mixing bowl, mix the baking mix, hot water, and the oil until a soft dough forms. Beat dough about 20 strokes, and let dough stand for about 8-10 minutes. {I chose to knead the dough about 20 times instead of beating it, and kneaded it right on the baking sheet.}

Grease baking sheet, or a pizza pan. Using hands dipped in baking mix, press dough into a 13-inch circle on the baking sheet, pinching up edges 1/2 inches, or press the dough into the pizza pan.

Ok, now the fun begins, as you can put anything you want to on this dough. I thawed and then wrung out in a dry kitchen towel a 10-oz. package of spinach, which I spread right on the dough. I scattered about half a cup of diced raw onions over that. While the dough was resting, I had washed and sliced the zucchini, put it in a mixing bowl, sprinkled it with about a teaspoonful of dried thyme, and then some olive oil. Then I mixed it all with my hands, so that every slice had a little thyme and some oil on it. The slices went on top of the onions, and on top of the zucchini, I crumbled/spread chevre goat cheese, the kind that comes seasoned with basil and sun-dried tomato. Then I sprinkled vegetarian Parmesan over the whole thing, and put it in the oven for, oh, I guess about 20 minutes, or until the crust is nice and brown. That's it, that's all there is to it.

I ate half of it for supper last night, and I ate the other half, cold, this afternoon. It's good cold, too.

Tonight I'm going to make some kind of soup, and some more biscuits. LOVE my hot buttered biscuits!!! Until next time, Happy Eating!!!!

Scrambled Tofu Burrito; Four-Cheese Pasta Bake

Thursday evening, in an attempt to stop wasting food, I came up with a way to use the leftover scrambled tofu, and I was delighted with the results. I made burritos...or wraps, if you prefer. There is no actual recipe here, it's the sort of thing you can do "to taste," any way you like it. I used a couple good handsful of frozen spinach to mix in with the tofu, and heated that up until it thawed, and everything was hot. In the meantime, while the tofu and spinach were heating, I put a piece of vegetarian smoked provolone "cheese," broken into three strips, down the middle of a tortilla. On top of that I poured some salsa, and on top of that, I spread some goat cheese crumbles. I did this on two tortillas. When the tofu/spinach mixture was good and hot, I spooned some over all the other stuff on each tortilla, rolled them up, and put them in a dry skillet over medium heat, just long enough to get the wraps lightly browned all over. Then I put some Tofutti brand "sour cream" in a bowl, and beside it I poured some more salsa, and then, I chowed down, lol. They were wonderful, and while I ate them I felt very smug, because I hadn't wasted the tofu leftovers!!

Friday night I decided I wanted some macaroni and cheese, and again, no actual recipe, just "to taste," again. I put some water on to boil for the pasta, which happened to be rigatoni, and while I waited for it to boil I made a plain white sauce: about 2 good tablespoonsful margarine, about the same amount of flour, and let it brown just a tiny bit, to get the raw flour taste out. Then I added soy milk, ended up using two cupsful, I think. When it started getting thick, I put the cheeses in: 4oz log of herbed chevre, a couple handsful of goat cheese crumbles, and several good shakes of the "Parmesan" cheese, too. The water was boiling, so I put two handsful of rigatoni into it, some salt, and let it boil until the pasta was pretty much done. When the pasta was done, I put it into a buttered casserole dish, and mixed the cheese sauce in with it. Then on top, I broke three slices of the "provolone" cheese into three strips, and layered those on the top. Put the whole thing in the oven, 350ºF, for about 15-20 minutes, or until the provolone browned, and the pasta and sauce was bubbling. My side veggie was a frozen mix of broccoli/carrots/cauliflower. It was a really good meal, very nice on a chilly night, and something that I'll do again sometime, I know.

Tonight? Well, I think I'll add some water to the leftover tempeh/white bean gravy, as it's just way too thick, and have that with a baked potato, and some kind of veggie. Easy. And uses up the last of the gravy, so, here again, no wasted food!!! Ahhhhhh, I just feel sooooo virtuous!!!...snicker.

Until next time, Happy Eating!